Online lesson plans 

In the previous pages we have seen that teachers can find plenty of resources for the different language skills on the net: grammar exercises, writing tutorials, authentic reading material, and so on. All this information can help very much, but still, we teachers, have to spend a lot of time selecting, organizing and timing all these resources. Among the Internet's treasures for teachers are a multitude of available lesson plans, which vary in quality, content, and detail, but are equally valuable. Some provide step-by-step instructions, and others are basic outlines that serve as a starting point for creating your own plan. 

• Cable News Network (CNN), a site which provides a daily "classroom guide", with worksheets relating to that day's broadcasts, showing news clips and timings, suggesting activities, and pointing to other Web sites that can provide students with further education.

• EF Englishtown, is another site which offers, amongst manyother things, lesson plans and links to other lesson plans sites. Visit "Teachers' Inn".

 
• Internet TESL Journal a monthly EFL electronic journal which includes lesson plans and handouts aimed at different levels, as well as articles and research papers. Visit it each month and browse through the previous issues. It is time consuming but worthy. See for example: Developing awareness: An intercultural communication lesson plan , by Asako Kajiura (April 1996). This journal has just started a new section aimed at publishing lessons which are ESL students guides to the Internet: ESL Student Guides to the Internet , and where students are guided to use Real-Life English materials Found on the Internet. The aim of this project is to not only introduce ESL students to selected pages designed for native- speakers, but to assist them in understanding and using those pages. Try this one: Dining Out, a lesson designed to help students to choose a restaurant that fits their needs, how to read a menu and even order a meal.

 
• Encarta Online, a site with a collection of lessons, most of the times interdisciplinary. Each lesson Plan comes with the title of the lesson, grades to which they are addressed , subjects involved, overview, purpose, objectives, activities, material needed and links to sites which offer additional information which the students may need to accomplish the task. Visit Lesson Plan/ School News to see an example.

• Ohio U.'s Language Teaching. List of links from the Ohio University for teachers of any language and also for teachers of English. There is a link to lesson plans from where teachers can access to all kinds of activities: lesson plans for writing, reading, grammar, and anything you want.

 
• Ideas and worksheets (International House), in this section you will find themed worksheets and easy teaching ideas for those days when time is tight or you've been surprised with a last-minute class. 

• The English Teacher Connection's Lesson Plans & Activities

• Its-online, where everything a teacher needs can be found, also offers a WebPage Project for teachers to do with their students, with a beginners guide to HTML and sample projects of varying degrees of difficulty. A sample project from "Project3-Our Virtual Class" guides teachers and students make their own website introducing students information, interests, photos and so on.